JPSS
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| JPSS | |
|---|---|
 NOAA · Public domain · source | |
| Name | Joint Polar Satellite System |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Northrop Grumman |
| Launch mass | 1,800–2,800 kg |
| Power | ~2,000 W |
| Orbit type | Sun-synchronous |
| Status | Active |
JPSS
The Joint Polar Satellite System is a series of polar-orbiting meteorological satellites designed to provide global environmental data for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and Earth system science. Managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, built by aerospace contractors, and launched aboard United Launch Alliance vehicles, the program supplies critical inputs to operational centers and scientific agencies worldwide.
Overview
The program links operational users such as the National Weather Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and Japan Meteorological Agency with contractors including Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, and Northrop Grumman. It occupies polar sun-synchronous orbits similar to those of NOAA-20, Suomi NPP, and historical platforms like TIROS and NOAA-19. JPSS heritage traces to programs including POES, GOES-R Series, and NPOESS and supports numerical weather prediction centers such as ECMWF, GFS, UK Met Office, and Canadian Meteorological Centre. Funding and oversight involve entities like the United States Congress, Office of Management and Budget, and OMB. Programmatic reviews have included panels from National Research Council, GAO, and interagency boards.
Satellites and Instruments
JPSS satellites carry suites derived from instruments with lineage to VIIRS, CrIS, ATMS, and OMPS. Major instruments include the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite for radiometry used by MODIS successors, the Cross-track Infrared Sounder for hyperspectral sounding informing models used by ECMWF and GFS, the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder linked to microwave sounders on MetOp and DMSP, and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite related to instruments flown on Aura and EOS missions. Additional payloads have included enterprise sensors from Ball Aerospace and calibration systems referenced to standards at National Institute of Standards and Technology and observational comparisons with CALIPSO and CloudSat. Instruments support products comparable to datasets from Sentinel-3, Jason-3, and archived records from ERS-2 and Landsat.
Mission Operations and Data Products
Operational control integrates centers such as NOAA Satellite Operations Facility, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and mission planning teams from United Launch Alliance. Data streams feed operational systems at National Weather Service, research archives at National Centers for Environmental Information, and assimilation pipelines at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Japan Meteorological Agency. Primary data products include radiances, soundings, cloud and aerosol retrievals, ozone columns, sea-surface temperature fields, cryosphere metrics, and land surface albedo used by modeling suites such as WRF, GFS, IFS, and seasonal systems at CPC. Distribution mechanisms involve NOAA CLASS, EUMETSAT gateways, and international data exchanges with WMO and CEOS partners.
Scientific and Operational Applications
JPSS inputs underpin short-term forecasting at National Weather Service and medium-range forecasting at ECMWF and UK Met Office, improve hurricane intensity forecasts used by National Hurricane Center, and enhance aviation weather services provided to Federal Aviation Administration. Climate research communities at institutions like Scripps Institution of Oceanography, MIT, Columbia University, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NOAA ESRL use the time series for trend analysis in ozone, albedo, and polar ice extent. Applications extend to hydrology at USGS and Bureau of Reclamation, air quality studies at EPA, and ecosystem monitoring at Smithsonian Institution and university observatories such as Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.
Development, Launches, and History
Development involved contracts awarded to firms including Ball Aerospace, Raytheon, BAE Systems, and Honeywell under program management by NOAA and NASA. Launch vehicles have included Delta II predecessors and Atlas V rockets from United Launch Alliance at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Key milestones align with missions such as Suomi NPP and operational successors including satellites named in sequence, with technical reviews by NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility, GAO audits, and schedule coordination with United States Space Force. Program history records collaborations and data continuity planning referencing earlier systems like TIROS and POES.
International and Interagency Collaboration
The system operates within a network of international partners: data sharing with EUMETSAT, JMA, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and research exchanges with ESA, CNSA, and UK Met Office. Interagency coordination involves NOAA, NASA, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and standards collaborations with World Meteorological Organization and Committee on Earth Observation Satellites. Cooperative calibration and validation campaigns have engaged institutions including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Colorado Boulder, NOAA ESRL, and field programs linked to ARM Program and GCOS.